The spokesman said in an interview: “Armenia used force to carry out ethnic cleansing in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and forced more than one million Azerbaijanis to flee their native lands.” Hajiyev said that ceasefire is violated on a daily basis and human casualties occur due to the occupation of Azerbaijani territories and the illegal presence of the Armenian armed forces in the occupied territories. Therefore, first of all, the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan should be ensured.

To the question about whether it would be easier to settle the conflict if Nagorno-Karabakh comes to the negotiating table, Hikmat Hajiyev said the occupation must be stopped and that the Armenian troops must be withdrawn from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan unconditionally. He said that first of all, Armenia should abandon its occupation policy. Which country agrees that its territory will be occupied by force by another state? Four UN Security Council resolutions demand unconditional and complete withdrawal of Armenian occupation forces from Azerbaijani territories. There is no problem of dialogue with the Armenian community of Nagorno-Karabakh, but the occupation must be abandoned, and forced migrants, including the Azerbaijani community of Nagorno-Karabakh, should return to their lands, he said.

 The question “Is it possible that Azerbaijan recognizes the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh?” received a clear and unambiguous negative answer.

“International law states that internationally recognized borders can not be changed forcefully. Armenia must also understand that these feudal rules are unacceptable in the 21st century. Armenia occupied the territory of another country, conducted ethnic cleansing in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, destroyed civil property, and then presents its results as self-determination? If the Armenian troops leave the occupied Azerbaijani territories, Azerbaijan may view Nagorno-Karabakh as a high autonomy within its borders.”

He was also asked to comment on the opinion among Armenian public that the Azerbaijani side’s hatred is very great.

Hikmat Hajiyev said: “I would advise you to look  through the secondary school textbooks in Armenia. You will see the extreme manifestations of xenophobia and hatred there. Armenia is the only mono-ethnic state in the world, as ethnic cleansing has been carried out regularly. 300,000 Azerbaijanis were subjected to ethnic cleansing. Two years ago, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said Armenians and Azerbaijanis were ethnically incompatible. This is already an expression of racial discrimination.”

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman also said that the possibility of peaceful settlement of the conflict has not been exhausted. At the same time, he added that Azerbaijan, like all the world states, has the right to defend itself.

Source     news.az